Vanier Woods commercial development gets MPC nod

Vanier Woods in south Red Deer will see a new commercial development at the intersection of 19th Street (Hwy 595) and Vermont Avenue.

The Red Deer Municipal Planning Commission (MPC) approved the application for site development of five buildings, including a convenience store and Shell gas bar, and car wash, at 10 Vermont Ave.

Three of the buildings will be mixed use, including medical and health services, merchandise sales, a commercial service facility and a 72-restaurant without a drive-thru. The entire project includes 45,565 square feet of building space.

The buildings will have various colours and construction materials and include stucco, aluminum panels, concrete blocks and stone veneer.

The development will have 91 surface and 24 underground parking stalls. Most of the trees on the tri-angle-shaped property will be retained, including a buffer along the northwest property line. More trees will also be planted along this line.

MPC citizen representative member Peter Holloway voted against approval because he was concerned about traffic movement in and out of the site.

There was discussion about traffic issues when drivers try to exit at the shopping centre at 22nd Street and 30th Avenue and he didn’t want to see similar problems at the Vermont Avenue development.

City administration noted that the area does not have drive-through restaurants, and also traffic information indicates there will be much less traffic that the 22nd Street, 30th Avenue shopping centre.

Mayor Tara Veer raised a concern about the noise that may come from the car wash traffic, and an amendment to the application was approved that would require noise mitigation to the satisfaction of the development officer.